Burning Up

Mistakes

This time was different. I didn't spend days moping around waiting for Iago to text, didn't spend hours wandering where he was and what he was doing and as the days passed, I managed to establish a routine that worked perfectly without him.

Or so I thought.

I blocked out the thought of him, got used to living on my own again, sleeping on my own again. I told myself I didn't care about him, didn't care that he was gone either.

"You should come to dinner tonight." Sami said, breaking me out of my thoughts. We were stacking the new shipment of produce in the cooler room.

"Huh?" I answered, my still zoned out head not quite processing what he'd said. We'd started to grow closer again, the awkwardness after our sort of row getting less and less with each day that passed.

"Mom wanted me to ask, Dads cooking his speciality." Okay it had been three and a half days since the Iago thing, and we really weren't that close.

I frowned slightly, adjusting the bottles of beer inside the crate I'd been holding just to seem as though I was doing something.

"Are you sure I wouldn't be uno... intruding?" Sami barked a laugh, his warm eyes sparkling even in the pale strip light.

"You're with us most days, how is eating with us any differed." I smiled back, thinking about his proposition for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah. I'd love to."

Sami smiled, his plump lips parting to reveal his perfect teeth.

"Cool. Luis will be pleased."

"Will Alex be there too?" I asked. I hadn't seen him since my birthday.

"Yeah, I think so. He normally comes to these things."

Family dinner was nothing like how I'd thought it would be. Everyone was so relaxed and comfortable, the normal undertone of seriousness that accompanied work disappearing almost as soon as I stepped though the threshold that divided their home from the restaurant below.

I felt almost self-conscious of the dress I'd chosen to wear. It was out of my comfort zone, sweet in a way that I'd never seen myself fitting into. I'd wanted to wear something nicer than I'd wear to my own family dinners, but not something that drew attention to me, or showed off my figure in unwanted ways. I'd found it in a sweet summer's dress I'd brought years ago, too embarrassed to wear it in English weather as it was too dressy for home but too casual for a night out. But the second Valeria's gaze took me in from head to toe and she grinned, complimenting the way I looked, I knew I'd made the right decision.

I'd been halfway through my food shopping when I'd run into Luis and Alex who insisted I came back with them, so I'd arrived at the restaurant half an hour early. I'd panicked a bit at first, not wanting to show up out of the blue, but in the end, it was worth it as it gave me some time to speak with everyone without Sami there, an ever-present reminder of the person I missed most.

That's how I ended up seated in the living room, surrounded by warm colours and soft lighting, with Valeria, Luis and Alex.

There were several coffee table books scattered around the room from fashion designers such as Chanel and Dior and I saw instantly that Valeria's beauty was mimicked in her home decor.

Shelves lined one side of the wall and were filled with trinkets from travels and colourful artworks as well as the occasional family photo. I laughed and pointed out the one of Sami with a cheesy grin and gap teeth to Luis, who grinned at me.

I was halfway through talking to Valeria about her decision to move to the states when Sami walked in, a towel wrapped low around his waist, his unruly curls still glistening with water that dripped down his chest.